MESQUITE, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2017 / Cannabis Sativa, Inc. (CBDS) announces that its hi product line was featured in the Los Angeles Times business section in an article detailing trademarking and branding issues in the cannabis industry, on January 7, 2017. The link below leads to the article by James Koren and photo by Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times:

The story showcases the hi product line and the current United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) stance that although cannabis is widely being legalized by states, it is still federally illegal, thereby precluding trademark registration for cannabis products. The article covers the tactic of cannabis companies trademarking ancillary products as the only course they can take to protect their intellectual property (IP).

The USPTOs stance on cannabis trademarks appears to differ somewhat from their stance on cannabis patents. On December 20, 2016, Cannabis Sativa was awarded Patent PP27,475 fora Cannabis Plant. The plant, Ecuadorian Sativa, is also known as CTA. This is one of the few cannabis strains allowed by the USPTO and was the result of seven years of legal effort. The Company plans to market or license the patented strain using the names Ecuadorian Sativa and CTA. The stance of the USPTO on whether Cannabis Sativa will be awarded the trademark Ecuadorian Sativa or CTA, or whether it is implied in the patent is the quandary.

“We would hope that the USPTO recognizes Cannabis Sativa’s ownership of the Equadorian Sativa and CTA names, as they appear to be implicitly granted in the patent”, Tobias said. As stated in Koren’s article, “The goal of trademark law is to prevent consumer confusion, and different companies can use the same name for products as long as their products are in different categories and wouldn’t cause confusion”, and that “trademark protection can apply not only to products a company makes now, but to products that a company might reasonably be expected to make later on — what trademark lawyers call the zone of natural expansion”. We are hopeful that industry awareness and articles such as Mr. Koren’s will help shift the USPTO’s stands on the issuance of trademarks for cannabis related products.

Cannabis Sativa has been active in pursuing IP and has successfully acquired a growing portfolio of Intellectual Property.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” Although the forward-looking statements in this release reflect the good faith judgment of management, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected. Underlying assumptions include without limitation, the ongoing enactment of legislation favorable to the production of and the commercialization of cannabis products and the Company’s success in capitalizing on that legislation. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this release.